_3rd._—I did not go to rest till I had wrote to Dr. Blagden and Mr. Aubert to announce the comet. After a few hours’ sleep, I went in the afternoon to Dr. Lind, who, with Mr. Cavallo, accompanied me to Slough, with the intention of seeing the comet, but it was cloudy, and remained so all night. MISS HERSCHEL TO DR. BLAGDEN. _August 2, 1786._ SIR,— In consequence of the friendship which I know to exist between you and my brother, I venture to trouble you, in his absence, with the following imperfect account of a comet:— The employment of writing down the observations when my brother uses the twenty-foot reflector does not often allow me time to look at the heavens, but as he is now on a visit to Germany, I have taken the opportunity to sweep in the neighbourhood of the sun in search of comets; and last night, the 1st of August, about 10 o’clock, I found an object very much resembling in colour and brightness the 27 nebula of the _Connoissance des Temps_, with the difference, however, of being round. I suspected it to be a comet; but a haziness coming on, it was not possible to satisfy myself as to its motion till this evening. I made several drawings of the stars in the field of view with it, and have enclosed a copy of them, with my observations annexed, that you may compare them together. _August 1_, 1786, 9^h 50ʹ. Fig. 1. The object in the centre is like a star out of focus, while the rest are perfectly distinct, and I suspect it to be a comet. 10^h 33ʹ. Fig. 2. The suspected comet makes now a perfect isosceles triangle with the two stars _a_ and _b_. 11^h 8ʹ. I think the situation of the comet is now as in Fig. 3, but it is so hazy that I cannot sufficiently see the small star _b_ to be assured of the motion. By the naked eye the comet is between the 54 and 53 Ursæ Majoris and the 14, 15, and 16 Comæ Berenices, and makes an obtuse triangle with them, the vertex of which is turned towards the south. _Aug. 2nd_, 10^h 9ʹ. The comet is now, with respect to the stars _a_ and _b_, situated as in Fig. 4, therefore the motion since last night is evident. 10^h 30ʹ. Another considerable star, _c_, may be taken into the field with it by placing _a_ in the centre, when the comet and the other star will both appear in the circumference, as in Fig. 5. These observations were made with a Newtonian sweeper of 27-inch focal length, and a power of about 20. The field of view is 2° 12ʹ. I cannot find the stars _a_ or _c_ in any catalogue, but suppose they may easily be traced in the heavens, whence the situation of the comet, as it was last night at 10^h 33ʹ, may be pretty nearly ascertained. You will do me the favour of communicating these observations to my brother’s astronomical friends.